Recently, a development proposal came to our attention, that required a change in a municipality’s existing zoning for a particular site . As a firm we talked about the opportunity to assist the proponent in gaining the necessary approvals to proceed.

Community opposition had already begun to mount and while the proponent tried to work through the necessary requirements, blind to this glaring problem, the municipality indicated they could not support the rezoning required.

Sadly, the day the proponent finally had time to speak to us about what we could do to help, was the day after they informed the city they would not proceed with this particular site, effectively tens of thousands of dollars in already sunk expenses.

This is the second time this year we’ve watched close up as proponents have watched their entire projects fall apart, before engaging professional help to support their efforts.

My advice to anyone facing a government or public relations challenge they are not in control of:

Get help. Quickly. The consequences of failing to act can and often will result in total project failure at an incredible personal cost to those behind the idea. The costs associated with implementing a successful government or public relations effort pale in comparison to financial impact of being forced to shelve a project, you could otherwise develop.